The African country of Botswana, home of Chobe Game Lodge in the national park of the same name, is renowned for its vast natural landscapes home to an abundance of wildlife. Tight controls over this designated national park has ensured excellent game viewing of wild animals in their natural habitat.

Chobe National Park is the largest park in Botswana. It covers 11,000 square kilometres extending to the edge of the Chobe River the natural border between Botswana and Namibia. Chobe Game Lodge offers five-star accommodation and has the distinction of being the only lodge inside this game park. Perfectly placed on a bank of the Chobe River guests can enjoy stunning views across the water from the rooms, restaurants and lounges.

Lounge Area at Chobe Game Lodge in Chobe National Park, Botswana

Guests at the lodge have the choice of game drives in 4WD luxury jeeps or boat trips along the Chobe River. As the lodge is inside the park their vehicles are out and about before the gates open to the vehicles from the other lodges. This early hour is the best time to view the animals that include huge herds of elephants and a large number of lions. The latter can often be seen on the hunt at this time. Numerous elephants and large packs of baboons come down to the river’s edge to quench their thirst at the start of the day – but not together. As one species leaves another will take its place. An ever changing tableau of animals. All keeping a wary eye on the water in case a crocodile may be lurking there.

A Nile Crocodile by the Chobe River in the Chobe National Park in Botswana

Who for

Mainly couples, singles and small groups. It can also accommodate families and private conferences

Accommodation

Sheltered under a canopy of mahogany trees Chobe Game Lodge offers a total of forty-four beautiful Moroccan style rooms. All the rooms are river-facing and air-conditioned and fitted with a ceiling fan. They also all feature a complimentary mini-bar, en-suite bathroom and private terrace. Forty newly rebuilt and decorated standard rooms (standard in name only) have been expanded in size and lead onto a spacious terrace facing the Chobe River. Included

are two fully wheelchair accessible rooms. Inside the rooms are all the amenities and comforts you would expect from a luxury safari lodge including a complimentary mini-bar, telephone and free WiFi .The en-suite bathrooms include a large bath and separate shower. The standard family room has two bedrooms, a shared bathroom and a river-facing patio.

Standard Room at Chobe Game Lodge in Chobe National Park in Botswana

Newly introduced triple rooms, ideal for families, are located in the main area of the lodge. These rooms, featuring two bathrooms, a more private terrace and a lounge area that can be converted into a bedroom with a single bed, are ideal for families. For guests looking for exclusivity there are also four river-view suites. Each suite has a private infinity plunge pool and a separate lounge area as well as all the amenities of the standard rooms. The luxury family suite is only available for families with children over the age of six. Finally, the honeymoon suite found in the most private location in the lodge. It is similar in layout to the family suites featuring an open-plan lounge and spacious bedroom with a king-sized bed.

Infinity Plunge Pool in a Suite at the Chobe Game Lodge, Chobe National Park, Botswana

Food and Drink

Inside and outside dining is available here from the grassy space where a temporary breakfast restaurant is set up to inside and outside dining areas and tables dotted along the wooden board walk. Private dining can also be organised in the suites. There are also two complimentary bars in the main building.

Outdoor Dining at the Chobe Game Lodge in the Chobe National Park, Botswana

Facilities

Chobe River is the main attraction at this beautiful lodge and a long boardwalk ensures all guests can take full advantage of this natural facility. Strolling along the boardwalk or relaxing in the seating provided an opportunity for game viewing without the need for jeeps or boats. This remarkable facility, linking a series of viewing platforms and small dining areas, ensures the river views are accessible to all guests including wheelchair users.

Viewing Platform on the Boardwalk at Chobe Game Lodge in the Chobe National Park, Botswana

Chobe Game Lodge boasts a gym for their more active guests make use of the downtime between game drives. Others may prefer the more leisurely activities of relaxing by the swimming pool, enjoying a massage in the spa or perusing the well-stocked shop. Modern Conference facilities are available for corporate guests including WiFi throughout the lodge and access to Kasane, the local town.

The Shop at Chobe Game Lodge in Chobe National Park, Botswana

Activities

Game watching is the main activity at the Chobe Game Lodge which has a fleet of luxury jeeps and several electric boats. Guests have the choice of land or water based safaris. Land safaris take place early morning and late afternoon. Thousands of elephants, large prides of lions, numerous antelopes and many other species of wildlife live in the Chobe National Park and are most active at these times.

A Pride of Lions in Chobe National Park, Botswana

Sunrise and sunset cruises take place at the appropriate times here. The lodge’s comfortable electric boats glide across the still waters as guests drink in the spectacle of the many species of wildlife that come down to the water’s edge to drink. These include huge herds of elephants, large groups of baboons and the occasional solitary hippo may rouse itself from slumbering in a riverside pool.

Hippo by the Chobe River in the Chobe National Park, Botswana

Sustainability is high on the agenda at Chobe Game Lodge. It has been working to a detailed plan established as early as 2013. Eco Tours are available for guests interested in seeing what goes on behind the scenes and sustainable tourism initiatives are implemented here. Money-saving procedures that have been implemented included a petrol station so vehicles do not have to make frequent journeys into the local town to fill up with petrol. Aspiring to a fleet of electric luxury jeeps, developed and maintained in the lodge’s workshops, they are already using electric boats for river cruising.

Electric Boats at Chobe Game Lodge in Chobe National Park, Botswana

Guests on the four night package have the option of a day excursion to Victoria Falls (extra charge).

How much

Prices start at $640 for a one night stay for two people in a standard room. Special prices are offered for a minimum stay of 4 nights.

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What’s nearby?

The town of Kasane is a 45 minute journey from Chobe Game Lodge. Kasane has an airport which means this is a good starting point for a safari holiday and convenient for flying to other lodges in Botswana. Desert and Delta Safaris offer a variety of interesting itineraries in Botswana.

VERDICT:

Chobe Game Lodge in Chobe National Park, Botwana, is perfect for that extra special safari in a country that offers exceptional game viewing

The post Chobe Game Lodge review in Chobe National Park, Botswana appeared first on The Travel Magazine.

Some people just have it. You know, that devilish cheek that’s tied up with a kind of self-entitlement that trumps the needs of others. There’s a word for it in Yiddish: chutzpah.

According to TikTok, Instagram and countless videos on Youtube, it’s rife among economy fliers who feel it’s ok to ask others to swap seats so they can sit together with other adult friends or family. Or worse, take up the seat even before you have boarded expecting you to concede. The backlash is unmistakable. 

Some would say that’s just bad etiquette a bit like knowing who has priority over the armrest but far worse and more and more are standing their ground over seating.

Here’s the thing. Those travellers who plan their seating often pay a fair whack perhaps for extra legroom, to be by a window or the aisle to eke out a bit more space.

Others prefer to wait till the last minute when it’s often the case you can choose your seat for free. However by this time, there is not much choice and it’s likely to be the least desirable – at the back or a middle seat – and unlikely to be one when you can sit with your partner. That can be bad planning, a hack to save money or a case of a solo traveller who doesn’t mind.

So what exactly is the etiquette? Though no one is under any obligation to swap seats, peer pressure can be the reason you agree when you don’t want to. I call it FOFA – the fear of feeling awkward.

A friend complained that she was pressured into giving up her window seat for an isle seat on a long-haul flight for some newlyweds. FOFA set in and she moved.

On the surface, it seemed a fair swap. However, what she gave up on was the anticipated enjoyment of the views as they neared Barbados, a place she had never visited. She felt resentful especially as she watched the love birds coo over the sights below. I’m not sure she has shaken that off yet.

Though I’ve never been asked to swap, I inadvertently became part of a swapping shenanigan. It was on a flight back from Singapore with Singapore Airlines three years ago.

I had paid for extra legroom on a seat that was part of a quartet just behind business class. My partner was to the right and a child on the left, whose mum wasn’t on the same row. She was sat on an aisle on a two-seater still close but just slightly set back with even more legroom.

She asked the guy sitting by the window next to her if he would give up his seat and swap with the child so she could sit with her “baby.” He said no precisely because he took great care to choose his seat. No FOFA on his part.

Being a mum I fancied myself as the cavalry and offered my seat. She refused preferring hers and even asked me to chat with her boy during the flight. I know!

So things I suggest that you can and should take into consideration while considering a heartfelt swap.

1. Firstly is the seat you will be moving to the same calibre as yours or, if you get lucky, a little better?
2. Does it take you away from a friend or family member?

If the answer to point 1 is a yes and point 2 is a no then make the move. Otherwise, unless there is a small child to consider I say don’t be a slave to FOFA. Stay put and enjoy your seat and relish in your ability to stand your ground in the face of someone else’s bad planning – let’s call it what it is – chutzpah.

The post Swap or not to swap your paid-for seat on a plane? appeared first on The Travel Magazine.

If you’re a new Lightroom user bewildered by the software’s vast array of features, this quick post-processing tutorial will calm you down and set you on a path for quick and effective edits—with three simple “must-use” tools that a respected pro says she uses for virtually every edit.

Instructor Lori Lankford works both as a photographer and professional image editor who regularly shares straightforward editing and shooting advice for making better macro, floral, and nature images. In barely seven minutes she reveals three favorite Lightroom tools and provides examples of her imagery to illustrate exactly how they work.

Lankford jumps right in to her first tip which is to examine Lightroom’s histogram to see if there’s room on the left side of the graph (the darks) and/or on the right side (the brights) to open them up for more details in shadows and highlights. Her first image of a slightly dingy white rose is a great example of how a simple adjustment can make all the difference by brightening photos in a very realistic way.

She similarly opens up the shadows a bit to achieve a nice balance of tones throughout the scene in which the flower remains very prominent. Next on the list is the thoughtful use of cropping. Lankford demonstrates how this simple task helps you accentuate a key element in a scene and direct the viewer’s eye to exactly where you want it to go. And sometime this means breaking the rules by positioning a subject in the middle of the frame.

She also explains why you should consider breaking the Rule of Thirds, and why the simple act of flopping a photo may add more impact to a shot  She provides a couple interesting examples: One making use of leading lines and another in which she eliminates distracting elements and takes advantage of negative space.

Lankford concludes the video with a discussion of Lightroom’s oft-ignored Tone Curve tool, and she puts it like this: “The Tone Curve is one of the least-used tools and it should be the most used.” We’ll let her demonstrate how to take advantage of this “essential” tool that she describes as a “reflection of the histogram”—with darks tones on the bottom and bright tones up above.

You’ll see how easy it is to adjust one or both of these exposure attributes by dragging up or down on the Curve. The bottom line is this: Even if you’re a Lightroom newbie, these three tools and enhancements will make a significant difference, and then you can experiment with more advanced techniques as your skills evolve.

Take a look at Lankford’s instructional YouTube channel after watching this helpful lesson where you’ll find much more of the same. Then check out the earlier tutorial we featured from another accomplished pro who reveals a simple formula for capturing dazzling fireworks on Thursday during Independence Day festivities.

One advantage of owning a home, or living in an apartment with a pretty yard, is that there’s abundance of great photo opportunities right outside your door. Today’s topic is garden photography, and the following tutorial from Quiet Light Photo provides five time-tested tips for getting the job done to perfection.

Instructor Adam Gibbs specializes in all forms of nature and landscape photography, with an avid following on YouTube among subscribers who appreciate his shooting and editing advice. He summarizes today’s episode this this: “Whether you’re a seasoned pro or just starting out these five tips will help you capture the beauty and essence of any garden.”

Gibbs insists that by following his advice you’ll be able to easily transform photos from ordinary to extraordinary. He begins with a tip that’s important when capturing all types outdoor images so be sure to keep it in the back of your mind. This one is all about experimenting with unusual  camera angles and perspectives.

You see how a simple shift in viewpoint can turn a ho-hum shot into one that really demands attention. Getting down low for a ground-level shot, for example, makes plants appear larger and more dramatic. Conversely, shooting from above provide a bird-eye view of a garden to show off its layout and interesting patterns.

Gibbs’ second tip is what he calls “Tell a story with smaller vignettes.” This is what he means: Instead of capturing the entire garden in one shot, try focusing on individual flowers, unique plant arrangements, or even interesting corners within the garden. As he says, “these detail photos will convey the garden’s character and mood more effectively that a single, wide shot.”

Next on the list is incorporating man-made objects within the frame to add a human element to your photos. Simple elements like garden tools, benches, a bird bath, and sculptures, will add depth and context to an image.

There are two more tips to go and they’re just as easy and effective as those summarized above. One involves capturing close-ups and patterns, while the other demonstrates how to use overcast skies to enhance colors and minimize noise. So take a look and see how all five techniques will significantly improve the garden photos you shoot.

After watching the lesson take a look at Gibb’s popular YouTube channel where you’ll find an abundance of shooting and post-processing advice.

And don’t miss the tutorial we posted earlier from another accomplished pro who explains the meaning of the term “fast lenses” and how to take advantage of them for the best photographs possible.